


Frozen Hearts

by BirukiMeraki



Category: Frozen (2013), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: F/M, Jack Frost - Freeform, Jelsa - Freeform, Rise of the Guardians - Freeform, Sacrifice, Short Story, elsa - Freeform, fan fiction, frozen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-24
Updated: 2014-09-24
Packaged: 2018-04-17 22:12:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4683239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BirukiMeraki/pseuds/BirukiMeraki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Time is something no one can escape.<br/>It delivers all equally to the same end.<br/>You, who wish to safeguard the future,<br/>however limited it may be...<br/>go forth without falter,<br/>with your heart as your guide...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

Imagine a small mushroom cloud. Clouds on Earth. Plumes of frozen breath. Frozen silence. The world was surrounded by a soft, white,  _cold,_  blanket. The sky was steel-grey, small white flakes floating slowly and serenely to the ground. Snow. Everything looked so cold and so silent.

  
  
        Not to Jack. He looked up at the dark sky. Plumes of his breath crystallised before him. His hood hung low down his face. He stared at the dark, leafless branches reaching up into the sky like the long, thin fingers of a beggar. As though they were begging for more snow. The cold didn't reach him. Didn't touch him. Wouldn't touch him unless he wanted it to. He held out his white hands and stared at it, peering at the long, thin fingers which were so identical to the branches that supported him. On a whim, he lazily turned his hand over and a frozen flower formed in his palm. He stared at it and heaved a heavy sigh.

  
  
        'You can do that too?' A voice nearly shocked him out of his tree. He jumped and clung on to the branch to steady himself. The frozen flower dissipated, floating to the ground serenely, joining the other, larger flakes.

  
  
        He yanked his hood, which had begun to cover his face, back angrily. He looked in the general direction of the voice. He saw a small girl with strawberry-blonde hair braided down either side of her head. She couldn't have been any older than four years old. She had huge eyes and even huger, natural smile on her lips. He climbed off the tree and walked over to her, the snow crunching under his bare feet, even though he felt nothing. He walked slowly over to the little girl, as though he was scared that it, too, would dissipate. She just stared at him, with her hands folded behind her back. Then she giggled. 'You walk funny.'

  
  
        'Y-you can see me?' he asked, hardly daring to believe it. 

  
  
        'Now what kind of question is that?' She giggled. Then she held out her hand. 'My name's Anna.'

  
  
        'Hello, Anna. My name's Jack.' He shook her tiny hand.

  
  
        'My sister can do that too.' She pointed to his hand. 'She makes snow.'

  
  
        Jack crossed his arms and smirked. 'Oh really?'

  
  
        Now Anna crossed her tiny arms. She pouted. 'You don't believe me, don't you?'

  
  
        'Oh, I do. I believe that your sister,' he bent before her and made another frozen flower, this one more beautiful than the one before, 'can do this.' He held the flower out to her.

  
  
        Anna took it and it crumbled and fell to the ground. 'Well, maybe not  _that._ '

  
  
        'Uh huh.' Jack recrossed his arms and smirked even bigger.

  
  
        'Come on; I'll show you,' she yanked on one of his hands. 'Follow me!'

  
  
        Jack opened his mouth to protest but only managed an 'Oof!' as he was pulled to a run by Anna.

  
  
        She weaved her way among the trees like a deer, her tiny legs pumping herself forward. 'You're a long way from home, aren't you?' Jack huffed.

  
  
        Anna immediately shushed him. 'She doesn't like people to see.' She let go of his hand and left him at the edge of the clearing. She ran to the middle of the clearing. 'Elsa!' she cried out.

  
  
        As if on cue, there was a snowy explosion in front of her and another little girl emerged. 'Anna!' she cried out in obvious relief. 'Don't go running off like that again. Come on,' she took Anna's hand. 'No more hide and seek. Let's go home.'

  
  
        'Wait! Do you want to make a snowman?'

  
  
        'Another one?' The little girl with white-blonde hair said exasperatedly, though the corners of her mouth curled up into a smile.

  
  
        'You know you want to...'

  
  
        'Okay, fine. One last one,' Elsa laughed. She held out her hands and twin blasts of ice shot out of it. It formed itself into three small lumps, one on top of the other. The bottom lump was like a round pile which was slightly squashed on the top and bottom with two stumpy legs, the middle was somewhat spherical and the top lump was long with a buck-toothed grin. Anna squealed with glee as she stuck twigs for arms, pebbles for eyes and buttons. Lastly, she stuck three tiny twigs on the top of its head for hair. Elsa ran behind it and began moving its arms. 'Hi! My name is Olaf; and I like  _warm_ hugs!'

  
        Anna squealed with laughter and Elsa giggled, looking over Olaf's head. She gasped and ran to Anna, shielding her little sister with her small body. Anna turned around and saw her new friend Jack, slack-jawed with disbelief.

  
  
        'Stay back!' Elsa warned, a hand out to the stranger and the other holding her sister back.

  
        'No, Elsa! He's my friend!'

  
  
        'You know him?' Elsa's hand dropped a fraction.

  
  
        'He's my friend, Jack. He does what you do!'

  
  
        'What are you talking about?' Elsa asked irritably.

  
  
        'I think it's best if I show you,' Jack interrupted, crouching down in front of them. Instinctively, Elsa raised her hand again. Unfazed, Jack held out a hand, palm up. Curiosity made her lower her hand again as she came closer. She let out a small gasp when a perfectly round snowball formed. 

  
  
        She looked up and met his eyes, her own eyes as round as the snowball in his hands. Slowly, she cupped her small hands and closed her eyes. With a small breeze like a sigh, a perfectly round snowball slowly formed in her hands. She opened her eyes and smiled at him and he smiled back. 'I thought I was the only one who could do this,' she said shyly.

  
  
        'Apparently not,' he teased and they laughed. Then a snowball flew out of nowhere and hit him squarely in the face, shocking them both.

  
  
        Anna stood defiantly staring at them, with snow on her mittens. She stuck out her tongue. 'I made that with my own hands too!'

  
  
        With a playful growl, Jack threw the snowball in his hand at her. She shrieked with surprise as it hit her.

  
  
        'Hey! No one does that to my sister!' Elsa laughed, throwing her own snowball at him.

  
  
        Then war broke out, with Anna protesting, 'No fair! I can't make snowballs like you can!'  
        


	2. The Middle

Elsa whipped her head around fearfully at the light tapping on the window. With a sigh if relief, she walked over to it and unlatched it. She flinched when it immediately froze over at her touch but she threw it open anyway. 'Jack!' she cried out in glee, throwing herself around his middle.

  
  
        'Hey, Elsa.' Jack patted her on the head with a smile. Then he noticed something. 'Hey, where's Anna?'

  
  
       Immediately, Elsa stiffened and let him go, hugging herself as though she was cold. 'I-I did something terrible,' she stammered.

  
        'What?'

  
        'The other night, we were playing in the ballroom. I was supposed to catch her but,' her voice raised an octave in despair. 'She was going too fast, I-I couldn't keep up! I slipped on a patch of ice, ice  _I_ made, she was falling without anything to catch her. I tried to catch her, but I-I,' her voice broke, 'I accidentally shot her head.'

  
        Jack gasped. 'Is she okay?'

  
        'Mama and Papa took her to the trolls in the forest. The head troll said Anna was extremely lucky I didn't shoot her heart. But in order to protect her, he took away her memories of my powers. It's also why we were separated and why the gates are closed. I'm a monster,' Elsa sobbed.

  
        'No. No you're not,' Jack tried to soothe her. 'If you're a monster, than what do you think that makes me?'

  
        'But I almost killed my sister!' she cried out in despair.

  
        'And now you're trying to fix it. Don't worry.' He held out a hand to her and made another frozen flower. 'Cheer up. Please?' He handed her the flower.

  
        With shaking hands, Elsa accepted it. She sniffled and gave him a wan smile as she met his eyes. The flower glowed and grew. Suddenly, one flower became many in her hands.

  
        Jack smiled. 'There you go. Hey,' he grinned. 'Do you think she remembers the snow wedgies you gave her?'  
  


*        *        *        *

  
        'Look, Jack!' Elsa pulled him to her closet and opened a drawer. In it, were rows and rows of fine gloves of every size and colour. 'Mama and Papa said the gloves will help to hide it. This way, I don't have to hurt anyone!' She beamed at him.

  
        Jack held up their entwined hands and grinned. 'How about me, huh? Aren't you going to hurt me without your gloves?'

  
        She looked at their hands, a frown creasing her small brow. 'I don't know,' she admitted. 'I can't  freeze you no matter what.' A blast of bright light erupted between their fingers. The it slowly faded, revealing their unscathed fingers. 'You're the only person I can't hurt, Jack.'

  
        He let go of her hand. 'I don't know,' he drawled. 'That last snowball you hit me with hurt kind of badly.'

  
        Laughing, Elsa playfully threw a snowball at him. He protested, lifting his arm to retaliate when a knock sounded on the door, shocking them both to silent stillness.

  
        'Elsa?' Anna's voice, though muffled by the door, sounded very small and lonely. 'Want to play?'

  
        Elsa's face turned from playfulness to one of heartbreaking sorrow. 'Go away, Anna.'

  
        'Please? Do you want to make a snowman?'

  
        'No!' Elsa said, harsher than she intended to as she clapped her hands over her ears and screwed her eyes shut, struggling to not cry.

  
        For a few seconds, Anna stood silently on the other side of the door. The they heard the footsteps walking away from the door.

  
        'You know, there's nothing wrong with playing with her once in a while,' Jack said gently.

  
        'No! I don't want to hurt her again.' Elsa hugged herself tightly as she stared out the window. 'I can't hurt her anymore this way, Jack.' She turned to face him with a smile so sad it shouldn't even be called a smile. 'You're the only person I can't hurt. Right, Jack?'

  
        Jack wanted to point out that by shunning Anna, Elsa  _is_ hurting her, but he decided to say nothing. Instead, he made another snowball and grinned. 'Another round?'  
  


*        *        *        *

  
        'Jack, my parents are going away for two weeks!'

  
        'So?' Jack drawled, making super-sized snowflakes and throwing them out the window.

  
        She threw him an extra-hard snowball. 'Don't just say "so"!' She said angrily. 'What if something happens?'

  
        'Nothing's going to happen!' he reassured her, wiping away the snow. 'Anyway, it's not like this is the first time they left you alone!'

  
        'This  _is_ the first time they left me alone,' Elsa growled. 

  
        'Oh.' Jack played with an imaginary piece of fluff thoughtfully. 'Nothing's going to happen,' he tried again.

  
        Elsa crossed her arms. 'Oh really? And how, pray tell, do you know that everything's going to remain absolutely  _peachy_?'

  
        He flashed her a (what he thought is) dazzling smile. 'Because I'm here.'

  
        She threw him another extra-hard snowball.

        

  
        'Elsa?' Anna's voice, though older and still muffled by the door, still sounded small and lonely. 'Please talk to me.' Anna continued to beg for her, beseeching for her to come out. 'Please, Elsa. You're the only family I have left. Please come out.'

  
        Elsa had her hand on the knob, ready to turn it. A tear fell from her eyes, which were still red from the tears previously shed. When she remained silent, Anna slid down the floor, with her back to the door. On the other side, Elsa did the same, her knees too weak to support her anymore.

  
        'Elsa...' Jack held out a hand.

  
        She shrank away from him and hugged her knees. 'Go away, Jack. Just go away.'

  
        'Elsa...'

  
        'Just go away, Jack! You said, nothing's going to happen! Well, something happened!' She sobbed quietly. 'Just...go away,' she whispered.

  
        Sadly, he turned away from her. He walked away from her to the window  and climbed out. With one last look over his shoulder, he did as he was told and went away.

  
        Elsa just stared at the place her ageless friend had been. In her grief, her room began to freeze at the corners. She rested her head on her knees and sobbed tears that froze the moment they left her eyes.

  
*        *        *        *

  
        'Coronation day,' Elsa whispered,staring at her reflection. Habitually, she turned to face the window, ready to say something. When she saw there was no one there, the words died on her lips and her face fell. That's right, he's not there. Even after all this time, she hasn't been able to break from the habit of turning to the window, which was his usual perch. He hasn't been here, not since she so harshly sent him away.

  
        She took a deep breath and tried to imagine what he would say. 'You should practice without your gloves,' she said in a poor imitation of his voice.

  
        'Quit bugging me, Jack,' she said in her normal voice.

  
        'Well, you have to.'

  
        'What if I freeze something?'

  
        'That's why you have to  _practice._ Remember, practice makes perfect.'

  
        'Okay, Jack. I'll do it your way.'

  
        She opened her eyes and with shaking hands reached out to take a candlestick and a bowl. She picked it up and almost immediately, it began to develop a light frost. Shocked and dismayed, she set them back down.

  
        'I can't do it, Jack. I can't do it.'

  
        Unable to predict what he would say, only the echo of an empty room greeted her.


	3. The Beginning of The End

Jack gazed at the summer-blue sky. He didn't feel anything, as usual. 'Arendelle,' he sighed, surprising himself. He hadn't stopped thinking about it. 'I wonder if she's cooled down yet,' he mused, heaving himself up and dusting the grass off him. 'I suppose an "I'm sorry" visit is in order.'

  
  
        On his way, Jack noticed the temperature change. 'Odd,' he mumbled.

  
        Then he crossed the mountain range and he saw it. Arendelle, or what he thinks is Arendelle, for the town was covered by impossibly thick snow. 'Oh no,' he gasped. 'Elsa!' he raced to the palace. When he reached there he automatically made for her window. To his shock and dismay, it was locked. 'Elsa!' he pounded on the window.

  
        A breeze so cold even he felt it sprang up and he shivered. He faced it and saw, across the fjord and in the far distance, he saw a lone mountain with a dark, ominous cloud over it. 'Elsa,' he whispered as he raced in the direction of the mountain.

  
        He stopped short at the sight of the ice palace. 'Whoa,' he breathed. He sped up and circled around it, searching for Elsa. He heard voices and raced in that direction. When he reached a large balcony, he saw Elsa conjure a huge snow beast and hurl it at Anna.

  
        'Anna!' Jack called out at once. But it was too late as the beast picked her and a tiny, misshapen snowman up and left the room with them.

  
        'Jack?' Elsa gasped at the sight of him. 

  
        'I can only assume that Anna came to bring you back to Arendelle and I say you should listen to her!' Jack declared as soon as he landed opposite her.

  
        'How would you know?  _You_ left me too!' Elsa retorted angrily.

  
        'I only left you because you told me to!' Jack answered, walking towards her.

  
        As soon as he advanced, she immediately shot at him, the blast only bouncing off him harmlessly. 'I was  _grieving!_ How can you trust the words coming out of my mouth! Of  _course_ I didn't want you to leave! If anything, I wanted you to stay!'

  
        By this time, Jack was close enough to grab hold of her hands. 'Y-you wanted me to stay?' he asked, aghast.

  
        Elsa stopped struggling and bowed her head weakly. 'Of course I wanted you to stay, Jack. You're the only person I can't hurt. I hurt her, Jack. I hurt her again.'

  
        'Elsa,' Jack said gently. 'You have to go back. You have to set things right.'

  
        It was then that he knew he said the wrong thing. 'You too!' she yelled. 'You're just the same as her! Fix it, Elsa! Look what you've done, Elsa! Well, it's not as if I  _meant_ for it to happen,' she whispered, suddenly exhausted. 'I didn't mean it. I didn't mean for any of it to happen. I love Anna; I love Arendelle. I didn't mean it.'

  
        'And they will understand,' Jack soothed her, gathering her in his arms, stroking her hair as if she were a child again. 'I love your new look, though. Just to get that out of the way.'

  
        Elsa gave a weak laugh against his lean chest. She laughed again, a little harder and a small stalagmite just popped out of the ground near her foot and she jumped. Suddenly, she thought of something that chilled her. 'Jack,' she whispered softly, pulling away from him. She wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed them, suddenly feeling chilly. 'I think,' she licked her lips and swallowed. 'I think you should leave, Jack.'

  
        She looked up and saw the crease in his brow. 'You're telling me to leave again?' he asked, puzzled. 'Do you really want me to leave?'

  
        'I-I really do, Jack.'

  
        'Why?' he asked, flabbergasted.

  
        'Jack, when I'm with you...I  _feel_ things.'

  
        'Which, I suppose, is better than feeling nothing,' he retorted.

  
        'No! You don't understand! I...  _can't_ feel things, Jack. They affect my powers. When I'm with you, I feel warm and kind of weightless. Just the thought of you-' she was interrupted by another stalagmite , this one slightly bigger than the other, erupted between them. ' _That_ happens.'

  
        He stared at it and shrugged. 'I suppose I should feel offended, I mean, I expected it to be bigger.'

  
        'Jack, be serious!' A couple more stalagmites and several stalactites erupted. Elsa pushed the heels of her palms to her temples. 'This is exactly what I meant, Jack. I'm so sorry, but I don't see us working out.'

  
        'What do you mean? We're  _perfect_ for each other! See?' He made a snowball in the palm of his hand, just as he did for her all those years ago.

  
        'That is the only thing we have in common,' she said sadly, willing herself to go on, even though it felt as though a chasm opened up in her chest. 'You're  _ageless,_ Jack. You left me for three years-'

  
        'I was gone that long?'

  
        'See? Time moves differently for you compared to me. How would we be in forty years? Fifty?'

  
        'Why are you looking so far ahead? Why can't we just focus on now?' Jack murmured softly, as he took her hand.

  
        'Because I'm a queen, Jack!' A blast from her hand, which she had yanked away from his grip, cracked the floor. 'I can't  _afford_ any temporary plans!'

  
        'You're a queen to a frozen wasteland!' Jack exploded, stunning both of them. They stared at each other, breathing heavily.

  
        'Just leave, Jack,' Elsa said coldly, her eyes narrowed.

  
        'If I go, the I'll take my 'warmth' with me!'

  
        'Fine! The cold never bothered me anyway!'

  
        Jack leapt off the balcony and raced down the mountain when he heard the snow beast's roar. 'Let's see that great icy lump give her warmth,' he muttered darkly, speeding towards Arendelle.


	4. The End

By the time he arrived in the palace grounds, he saw Anna being led into the palace grounds by several servants. 'Anna,' he called, dropping down to her side. 'Anna?' he noticed her white hair. 'What happened to you?' he asked, but she barely glanced at him. She shivered violently as the servants led her to a room with a roaring fire and a strapping young man.

  
  
        Before he could slip in, the servants closed the door behind them. He bent down and peered into the keyhole. His brow creased deeper when the man doused the fire, leaving Anna shivering and juddering on the floor. When the man yanked the door open, Jack instinctively jumped away. His eyes grew huge when the man locked the door, leaving a clearly unwell Anna on the floor. He went back to peer into the keyhole. He saw a weak Anna drag herself to the door. She croaked for help and weakly pounded the door.

  
        Feeling bemused, he found the man who was with Anna in another  room with several other men just in time to hear him declare Elsa a traitor and sentence her to death.

  
        'No,' he gasped. 'Elsa!' He raced around the palace, calling her name. After a frantic search, he found her in the dungeon, her hands shackled and she pulling at them uselessly. 'Elsa!' He called out as he placed his hand on the floor. He shut his eyes and concentrated on freezing the shackles  to make them brittle. Then a small army of guards came thundering towards him, led by the man from just now. 'Oh no, you don't!' Jack cried out, pulling another hand on the door, freezing it.

  
        'Well, open the door!' he commanded a guard.

  
        'I can't, sir. It's frozen!'

  
        Just before the guard managed to force the door open, a huge crash sounded and Jack sighed, knowing that Elsa managed to escape. He released his hold on the door and the guards managed to wrestle the door open.

  
        Jack swiftly disappeared out the hole Elsa made to find Anna. To his relief, the misshapen snowman had lit a fire for her. He saw that he accidentally froze the corridors and that they were trapped. 'Hold on, Anna!' he called as he threw an icy blast at the window and it blasted open.

  
        As he saw that they had safely escaped, he raced to find Elsa again. The storm made visibility  almost non-existent. 'Elsa!' he called out, to no avail. Then he almost collided with a burly blonde man who was calling out for Anna. This man couldn't see him so Jack saw no point in saying anything. All he could do was summon winds to carry Anna'a weak calls to him.

  
        Suddenly, the storm disappeared and Jack saw Elsa weeping on the frozen fjord, with a man towering over her with his sword raised, ready to strike her. 'Elsa!' He sprinted towards her, even though he knew he wouldn't make it. He was stunned when Anna threw herself over her sister. 'No!' they cried out in unison and Jack froze the sword a split second before it hit a frozen Anna. The frozen blade shattered as it struck her.

  
        He stared at the frozen Anna with dismay, his knees weak.

  
        'Anna?' Elsa cried out. 'Anna!' The older sister threw herself around the frozen statue, sobbing loudly.

  
        'Elsa,' he whispered, reaching out to reassure her.

  
        He couldn't touch her.

  
        Which meant that she couldn't see him any anymore.

  
        Weak-kneed, he sank onto the frozen fjord. He just stared numbly at the two sisters before he dragged himself up to his feet. He placed his hands on Anna's chest. 'This is for you, Elsa,' he whispered, concentrating very hard on taking the frost away, instead of fuelling it, like he normally would. It felt like sheer agony, as ice entered his veins instead of flowing out of it. He yelled out in pain, feeling the ice like cold fire seeping into his body but he kept his hand on Anna's chest, not lifting it until Anna was completely thawed. His hand shook and sweat formed on his forehead and on the top of his lips. He bit his lips and concentrated harder than ever. His fingers twitched and he gasped out in pain.

  
        'Keep it together, Jack,' he muttered through gritted teeth.

  
        Slowly, Anna thawed out. As the last of the frost went away, Jack dropped wearily on his feet, dark spots forming in his field of vision.

  
        'Anna!' Elsa gasped as the thaw finished.

  
        'An act of true love!' The misshapen snowman grinned happily.

  
        'I love you Elsa,' Anna replied simply.

  
        'I love you, too,' Jack smiled tiredly as he wobbled to his feet, panting from the pain.

  
  
        Jack could only watch from afar during Arendelle's celebrations, as he had always done. As Elsa skated around with Anna, he smiled a bittersweet smile. 'You're wrong, Elsa,' he said sorrowfully. 'You  _can_ hurt me.' With that, he turned away and left the fjord for the last time.

  
        Elsa's head jerked up and she squinted at the sky.

  
        'Elsa! I don't got it!' Anna called out.

  
        'Oops! Sorry!' Elsa caught her sister for the umpteenth time, steadying her sister's clumsy skating.

  
        'What were you looking at?' Anna asked, looking up as well.

  
        'I don't know,' her older sister murmured, frowning. 'I feel like I should, but I don't.'

  
        'Then it  might not be important,' Anna reasoned, slipping again. 'W-whoa!'

  
        Elsa held her up again. 'It might,' she whispered when she saw a strange, almost wintry breeze blowing away from the palace.


End file.
